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Monday News Roundup
GOP Troubles May Hurt Bid To Retake Congress in 2008
The abrupt resignations last week of two Republican House members from their sensitive committee assignments have thrust lingering legal and ethics issues back into the limelight, potentially complicating GOP efforts to retake Congress next year.
On successive days, Wednesday and Thursday, Reps. John T. Doolittle (Calif.) and Rick Renzi (Ariz.) disclosed FBI raids on their wives' businesses. The men proclaimed their innocence, but the raids exposed their legal jeopardy. The announcements were only the most recent in a series of developments that have kept the focus on the old ethical and legal clouds that helped chase the Republican Party from power on Capitol Hill.
Democrats Recruiting Challengers for Growing Target List
When Rep. Sam Graves (R) won Missouri's 6th District in 2000 with 51 percent, it was assumed that he would be a regular Democratic target. His subsequent reelection percentages -- 63 percent in 2002, 64 in 2004, 62 in 2006 -- show how quickly Graves fell off Democrats' radar. No more.
Democrats believe they have convinced the outgoing mayor of Kansas City, Mo., Kay Barnes, to challenge Graves in 2008, in one of a handful of early recruiting successes that, national party strategists argue, will allow them to greatly expand the playing field of competitive races that November.
Baghdad’s ‘Great Wall of Adhamiya’
American forces, struggling to improve security in Baghdad, are turning to an approach with a 4,500-year history in the region: They are building a three-mile wall around the heavily Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya.
A news release said the project, which soldiers jokingly called “the Great Wall of Adhamiya,” was “one of the centerpieces of a new strategy by coalition and Iraqi forces to break the cycle of sectarian violence.”
Bush draws up list of candidates to replace Wolfowitz
The future of Paul Wolfowitz, the embattled President of the World Bank, was in further jeopardy last night after it emerged that the White House was drawing up a list of candidates to succeed him.
Most prominent on the list is Ashraf Ghani, the man credited with overhauling the economy of Afghanistan after September 11, The Times has learnt. Such an appointment would mark the first time a nonAmerican has held the position in the 60-year history of the global lender.
U.S. gender pay gap emerges early, study finds
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dramatic pay gap emerges between women and men in America the year after they graduate from college and widens over the ensuing decade, according to research released on Monday.
One year out of college, women working full time earn 80 percent of what men earn, according to the study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, based in Washington D.C.
Ten years later, women earn 69 percent as much as men earn, it said.
US urges Iran to join Iraq talks
Condoleezza Rice is urging Iran to join her at a high-level conference on the future of Iraq next week, signalling that Washington is now ready for a serious exchange of views with Tehran after several months of resisting Iran’s advances in the region.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the US secretary of state said it would be a “missed opportunity” if Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s foreign minister, did not attend the minister-level meeting to be hosted by Egypt.
Ms Rice denied that the Bush administration’s Iran policy had ever been directed at regime change, insisting that the aim was to “have a change in regime behaviour”.
Nite everyone.
♥'s to all
Kindness id free
Car bomb kills 9 U.S. soldiers in Iraq By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
18 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomb struck a patrol base northeast of Baghdad on Monday, killing nine U.S. soldiers and wounding 20 in the single deadliest attack on American ground forces in more than a year, the military said.
------
That LOSING feeling....
23-Apr-2007 11 | US: 10 | UK: 1 | Other: 0
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Diyala Province Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US NAME NOT RELEASED YET Muqdadiyah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
UK NAME NOT RELEASED YET Basra (Al Ashar district) - Basrah Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
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Looks a lot like pre-escalation to me.....just more sitting ducks.
Another Brit has died....that makes it the worst single month for England since the QUAGMIRE began.
More added to the post about Howard Dean in Italy. Someone from that new blended party in Italy joined in the conversation in the comments. He followed the pictures posted and an article. Very interesting. Seems like they and progressives in other countries are trying something new...banding together.
has the blog gone to sleep? just checking
7. LZ XRAY
LOL - sort of
One less square. (thanks Sheryl)
I fish near the toilet paper factory in Dryden Ontario and have seen the vast clearcut forrest first hand.
the subject needed to be raised
How can you let a server go down on the day you invite the whole blogospere to visit?
Or does that explain why?
I think there should be running vote totals (can you imagine how far we would get with a hidden bat?) oh wait we know
I like the Iowa caucus system where everything is out in the open.
Vote for Darcy.
Edwards has a good rural plan.
The plan may be viewed at
http://www.johnedwards.com/about/issues/rural
Good morning, everybody
Slept too long this morning. It's not a good feeling. I shall blame it on MCCain. Started thinking about him early and I guess that's what put me back to sleep. Has anybody said
"McCain's a Pain"
How long do we give someone a pass because he claims to have been a prisoner of war? What, is that a no-no, to use the word "claim"?
I thought prisoners are supposed to tell nothing but their name and serial number. So, how did the vietnamese find out he was the son of a famous man and how did he get a chance to decide whether he'd be repatriated or not?
I wouldn't ask, but his subsequent behavior just hasn't been consistent with his supposed hero status. Remember the Keating five?
Funny thing--just checked my email LOL
Call to Action: Peace Visibility at McCain's Kick-Off Rally, Weds
Join us on Wednesday, April 25 to greet Senator McCain at his campaign
kick-off at 12 noon in Prescott Park in Portsmouth (rain site: Connie
Bean Community Center, 135 Daniel Street).
Our goal is to say to McCain: US Out of Iraq & No Bombs on Iran
http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/pa...
Wish I knew how to link Youtube videos, but I don't. I heard the history one on my TV; Bluehampshire is featuring the wall one on it's front page today. If you don't want to leave an opinion on Richardson's site, you could leave one on bluehampshire
http://bluehampshire.com/frontPage.do
WE'VE GOT THE WINDOW OPEN!!!!
BTW, the Secretary of State is a lying ***** for suggesting that the government of Iran has behaved in any way that needs changing. Iran was helpful in ousting the Taliban from Afghanistan and has been inviting dialog with the U.S. over Iraq for years. If messages from other nations are lost in the White House along with five million emails, that is not a problem which Iran has created.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6575717.stm
Last Updated: Friday, 20 April 2007, 12:51 GMT 13:51 UK 
Despair stalks Baghdad as plan falters By Andrew North
BBC News, Baghdad
So far, their surge seems to be having more effect than the American one.
Last month alone there were more than 100 car bombings, and the number of attacks has continued at a similar rate so far this month. This indicates a high level of organisation.
This despite the fact that there are many extra US and Iraqi troops in the city now. There are more raids and patrols.
On our drive into the city, we encountered several Iraqi army checkpoints. But almost every vehicle - including ours - was being waved through.
Many new checkpoints have been set up across Baghdad.
But what is their purpose, many Iraqis ask, when they seem to stop so few people?
It is not always encouraging when they do - a couple of times we have been pulled over by Iraqi soldiers who ask us if we have any bullets to give them.
Optimism fading
Just a month ago there was a cautious - very cautious, but still real - sense of optimism among many Baghdadis that the plan was starting to work.
...
But there is a deadly and familiar equation here.
With official security forces apparently unable to protect Shia communities, pressure is growing on the militias to do so again.
And there are signs their death squads have returned to work. The body count is creeping up again. Twenty were found yesterday.
Dealing with the car bomb is "our top priority", says US military spokesman Lt Col Chris Garver.
But as ever it is a game of cat and mouse, played with insurgents who are "very adaptive", and very well-funded.
A man arrested by US soldiers after placing a truck bomb which failed to go off told interrogators he had been paid $30,000 (£15,000) for the task.
Lt Col Garver says the US believes it is up against several "car bombing networks".
"If there was just one, we might be able to pull the string and unravel it," he says.
People still have to be patient, he warns, adding a note of optimism.
"We are still not fully staffed," he says - there are another two months to go until all the extra US troops are in Baghdad.
Exhaustion
But there is frustration too among the Americans at the Iraqi government's lack of progress on reconciliation - ultimately the only solution to the conflict, most believe.
Key issues include the need to implement a new law on sharing oil revenues, an amnesty programme and limiting the scope of the de-Baathification process. All of these are crucial to winning over Sunnis.
The idea was that the security drive in Baghdad would create "space" for such efforts to get going. But although new laws have been drafted they are a long way from being approved.
...
Exhaustion and despair hang over the country.
And there are no signs of change.
Phil Specht
Mon, 04/23/07
9:00 pm
___________________________________________________________________________
Edwards $400 haircuts...........hmm, yes there are 2 Americas.......the repubs and some dem candidates are gonna have a filed day with that one old boy................"we dont need somone like you coming down here and telling us how to do things"
CHAPEL HILL - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Monday called the flap over his $400 haircuts "embarrassing" and said he didn't realize at the time the cost of the Beverly Hills stylist.
Appearing on the nationally syndicated Ed Schultz radio show, the former North Carolina senator said his staff had arranged for the two haircuts in his hotel room to save time during busy West Coast campaign swings.
"This particular thing is really embarrassing," Edwards told radio listeners and an audience of about 250 people in the Carolina Union auditorium at UNC-Chapel Hill. "No one should pay $400 for a haircut."
The haircuts created a flap when their cost showed up on his campaign report that he filed with the Federal Election Commission. He later repaid the cost from his personal funds, saying it should not have been charged to the campaign.
"I knew it was going to be expensive," he said. "I don't want to mislead. When a haircut guy comes to your hotel to cut your hair, it's not going to be cheap."
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100walkup/article/0,28804,1611030_1612457,00.html
The TIME 100 — Are They Worthy?
Poll Results- 203 of 203
Who do you think should be on this year's list of TIME's most influential people? Read through the profiles of the 200 candidates and rate your top choices. Then check out the list below to see the full results.
...
Good morning, folks!
Heavy snow in our neck of the woods today. I'm ready for springtime flowers. ;-(
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5682628?source=rss
Obama tops in Colo. cashBy Karen E. CrummyDenver Post Staff WriterArticle Last Updated: 04/17/2007 01:23:39 AM MDT
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama raised more early money in Colorado than any other candidate, with residents of Boulder and Denver first in line to support the Illinois senator, an analysis of federal records shows.
The $565,087 amassed by Obama dwarfed the amounts raised by other top-tier Democrats in Colorado. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton netted only $84,535, and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards raised $78,350. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson garnered $151,950.
...
Although the money raised in Colorado was a fraction of the cash funneled from states such as California and New York to candidates, Obama's and Romney's financial performance in Colorado may be a sign of things to come.
"Party leaders are looking for signs for how candidates can do in the general election, which means outside the Northeast and California," said University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket. "Candidates need to do well in the West, and an early good showing here ... is a good sign."
...
20. I'll admit I spend quite a few bucks on my hair but I'm not running for President on a *Two Americas* platform.
Edwards should do what my husband does - he gets $10 haircuts and it doesn't matter where he goes! (And it looks like it). Gary Hart's wife says the same about her husband. Guess that leaves more for we high-maintenance wives. LOL.
mary vb
Tue, 04/24/07
8:40 am
__________________________________________________________________________
he also had that mole, wart, boil whatever ya wanna call it removed from his lip.........remember, running for President here requires vanity as well.....................you can bet the accent will be turned up a notch or two on Thiusday in SC................
25.
I know I'm shallow, but I never could take my eyes off that thing on his lip. At least it kept me from looking at his hair.
As for his southern accent, didn't Elizabeth grow up in the south too? How come she doesn't sound soooo down home?
Guess it doesn't really matter, because while I appreciate the merit in what Edwards says, I bristle when I hear him say things like "You Have the Power!" He's a bit of a kleptospeechomaniac.
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By Annilow on Apr 23, 2007 11:11 PM EDTOkay Howard Dean and Jim Dean are the best and the brightest.
And Harry Reid is the bravest and most eloquent today -- I hope he can bring his horse trading talent to turn that talk into action!